South Asia

Teachers deployed as BLOs for over a month will continue election-related work until August 17, with the draft electoral rolls now scheduled to be released on August 24. Schools across Maharashtra have reported reduced teaching time, limited staff and difficulties in conducting unit tests, while educators say prolonged deployment is affecting classroom teaching and the academic schedule

Threats naming six government employees prompt tighter security and unofficial work-from-home instructions, even as authorities deny issuing any formal order

The Thiruvananthapuram court granted regular bail to right-wing activist T.G. Mohandas, a former head of the BJP’s State intellectual cell, a day after his arrest over alleged remarks about women and student protesters at Jantar Mantar; the court cited non-issuance of notice under Section 35(3) BNSS, recovery of electronic devices, cooperation with investigators, and his age and health.

The pushback to the Modi 1.0 regime came within months of it being sworn into office, and it emerged from the student of the Central University, Hyderabad & JNU among others, that had been creations of independent India’s intellectual and organisational fashioning; while Gen Z’s 2026 protests are a breath of fresh air to the battle weary, India’s students in universities have never been silent

Pune police invoke the new law against a man accused of targeting a minor and an OCI cardholder accused of religious inducement

When Noida District Magistrate Medha Roopam chose to invoke the stringent law against the journalist, she appears to have based it on her reading of his assumed ability to influence workers – not the facts available.

JNU cited “non-disclosure of full facts” to cancel the auditorium at the last minute; organisers disputed the explanation and students took the discussion outdoors, turning a venue cancellation into a larger battle over academic freedom and dissent